


Afterwards

by prosodiical



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Multi, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-08-08 02:57:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7740709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prosodiical/pseuds/prosodiical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim doesn't quite mean to fix Tony and Pepper, but he ends up doing it anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Afterwards

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sqbr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sqbr/gifts).



> I hope you like this!

Jim wouldn’t admit it, but he nearly sags in relief when Pepper sticks her head in through the door. She makes a face when she sees him, and he tilts his head for her to come in, practically all the movement he's allowed right now, swaddled up like a mummy. "Hey," he says, through a cracking throat, and she hurries over and brings a glass of water to his lips.

"Jim," she says, voice full of relief, "it's so good to see you."

He can't help but think he's a sight compared to her, still in her businesswear with only a few flyaway hairs and the smudge of her mascara giving away her stress. "Hey, tell it like it is," he says, after he finishes drinking from the straw, and she smiles at him, her eyes damp.

"You look terrible, is that what you want to hear?"

"I don't think I'll be winning any contests," Jim says, "but I'm alive."

"I'm glad," Pepper says, and when she sets the glass down on the table she takes one of Jim's hands, swaddled in bandaging, between her own. "I'm sorry, that I wasn't - "

"They sprung it on us pretty recently," Jim says, "and with you and Tones - well, you're lucky you missed him, he's been bothering me non-stop."

Pepper's expression turns briefly guilty, and she says, "I may have talked with Happy about that. God," she adds, "this is a mess, isn't it?" Her smile is weak, wry. "You can’t want to deal with us on top of everything."

"You're both my friends," Jim says, and Pepper exhales.

"Yeah," she says, "yeah, we are. Want to tell me what I missed?"

Jim talks about what happened for a while, the Accords and Barnes and Cap and what he's heard from Tony about Zemo, and Pepper refills his water when his throat runs dry. He's tired not before long, though, and that's when she starts talking: SI and her business deals, the meetings she cancelled when she heard the news: "I couldn't wait, I had to see you," she admits, and Jim gives her a smile. She ducks her head and says, "I'll stick around for a while - maybe I can stop Tony from hovering."

"I could use someone who'll actually listen to me," Jim says wryly, and she smiles.

 

As far as he knows, she doesn't see Tony that day, or the next; when Jim brings her up as Tony's fussing, wild-eyed and messy-haired of the sort that means he's been up for three days and counting, Tony pauses. "You've - Pepper was here?"

"Yeah, said she'd hang around," Jim says, "reorganise her schedule," and Tony gives him a strange look, then rubs a hand over his face.

"I," Tony says, "Rhodey," but whatever he's thinking, he doesn't say it. Instead he shakes his head, says, "Hey, this is what I've done so far," and he flicks through the hologram projected up from his tablet, paging through exoskeleton designs. "I was thinking - "

"You need to sleep, Tones," Jim says, as gently as he can manage. "It can wait."

"It can't - " Tony stops himself, and Jim raises his eyebrows, stares him down. Tony only holds his gaze for a moment before he drops his head in his hands. "Fuck," Tony says, "fuck, fuck, I just, I can fix this, okay? It's my fault you were out there - "

"Tony," Jim says, "I picked my side, you didn't pick it for me."

"But was it," Tony says, and gestures, angry and tired. "Was it worth this? Rhodey..."

"This was an accident," Jim says, and he thinks he believes it. "Tony. C'mere." He can barely move for broken bones but Tony gets the hint, shuffles over to the edge of the hospital bed where he perches, awkwardly, on the side. "Hey," Jim says, "I don't regret it, okay?"

"I don't care," Tony says, his voice muffled into Jim's shoulder. "I'll still fix it. The exoskeleton's good, right?"

"Maybe you can start with a wheelchair," Jim says pragmatically, and he falls asleep to Tony's voice, talking like he would to JARVIS or FRIDAY, as he sketches schematics by his side.

 

Three weeks later and Jim is stumbling around the compound, his chair set aside as he tries out Tony's new leg-braces. "Not quite," he manages, gripping onto the rail, watching the holograms of his movement being analysed six ways from Sunday scattered around them. "Needs more, uh - "

"Give in the right, right?" Tony says, biting his lower lip as he squints at the screens. "Sit down, c'mere."

Jim is frustrated with his reliance on the chair, the way he can hardly move from one place to another without some sort of aid. It's still a relief to sink down into its confines, let his physical energy be more useful for once as he pushes it forward to Tony's side. "I think the second joint on the left, too."

Tony glances at the holograms, nods as he tosses Jim a screwdriver; Jim leans down to adjust the left leg while Tony does the right. "You sure you don't want these powered?" Tony asks, again, and Jim nods.

"The ones in the suit, sure," he says, "but I should be doing physical therapy, not..." Tony looks at him, and Jim grimaces. 

“Ï’ve been working on the suit,” Tony says instead of pushing. “It’ll work, I’ve been testing it - “

“Tony,” Jim says, but he can’t bring himself to be the reassuring one, to do anything but grit his teeth as he braces himself on the arms of the wheelchair, pulling himself to his feet. It’s one step in front of another, and the braces work a little easier now; it’s not the support that’s lacking, Jim knows, but him.

Tony’s silent, studying schematics with a distant, tight frown, and Jim wishes abruptly that Pepper were here, a distraction and reprive both from Tony who treats Jim with kid gloves and from Jim’s own bubbling frustration with both Tony and himself. She’s called a few times since he’s been released, talking meetings and the day-to-day patterns of her life with a voice that shakes only a little. Jim, in turn, tells her their progress; Tony’s breaking apart, he doesn’t say, but he’s still sure she hears it. She still doesn’t come. “A call for you, Colonel Rhodes,” says FRIDAY, and Jim wipes the sweat from his brow as he pulls himself back to his chair, his muscles shaking.

“You mind if I - ?” Jim asks, and Tony waves a hand, absently. Jim could go - it’ll hold until he makes it down the hall - but he thinks he’ll have to force this one way or another. “Alright, hit me.”

FRIDAY says, “Of course. Connecting now, sir,” and Jim is presented with Pepper’s smiling face. 

“Jim,” she says, and at her voice Tony glances up from his work, eyes widening as he meets Jim’s implacable stare. “I haven’t interrupted you, have I?”

“Tony and I were just working on my braces,” Jim says, and doesn’t miss the tightening of the corners of Pepper’s mouth, the way her smile dims. “Yes,” Jim continues, mercilessly, “that means he’s here. Tony.”

“Rhodey,” Tony says, warningly.

“There,” Jim says, “now you can stop avoiding each other. You said you’d come visit, Pepper.”

“Well,” Pepper prevaricates, but Jim meets her eyes through the digital connection and her mouth twitches, wry. “I suppose I should. I have some papers that need Tony’s signature.”

“I’d like you to be here,” Jim says, and she blinks a few times, her smile gentling.

“I’ll stop by,” she says, “as long as it’s okay - Tony?”

Tony has his head bowed over his work, fiddly electronics and a screwdriver in his hands. “Yeah,” he says, dismissive and tight, and doesn’t look up. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Don’t let me stop you, Pep.”

“It wasn’t - “ Pepper starts, but she bites her lip, shakes her head. “Sorry, Jim. I’ll see you soon.”

FRIDAY disconnects the call and Jim wheels over to Tony and knocks their elbows together. “Tones,” he says, his tone a little apologetic, and Tony looks up, raises his eyebrows, mouth pursed. “You know you can’t avoid each other forever.”

“Who says I can’t?” Tony mutters, but he must see something in Jim’s face, because his frown relaxes and he sighs. “I know, I know.”

“Good,” Jim says. “And maybe stop treating me like I’m fucking glass, okay?”

Tony’s mouth tilts into a smile. “Hey, glass is pretty strong where it counts."

"Exactly." Jim bumps their shoulders together, gives Tony a pointed look, and Tony exhales and leans forward, his head against Jim's own. "I'm good, you know?"

"Rhodey," Tony says, "don't lie."

"Okay," Jim says, quieter now. "I'm tired, I'm frustrated, I - this is hard. But it'll get better, Tones."

"You optimist," Tony says, and Jim laughs.

"You were the one saying you could fix everything," he says. "Who's the real optimist here?"

Tony's eyes crinkle, and his nose slides against Jim's cheek as he pulls back a centimetre, two; Jim watches him and wonders, anticipation and something stranger coiled in his throat, as Tony's gaze flicks down to Jim's mouth. Tony's eyelashes flutter dark against his cheeks and Jim thinks about leaning in, thinks about - but Tony laughs, soft and sudden, pulling back. Jim looks at him and Tony drops his gaze to the arms of the chair, says, “So, you’ve been conspiring against me.”

“Only for your own good,” Jim says, and makes himself smile on it. “Pepper - she’s struggling too, you know.”

“Then she shouldn’t have - “ Tony bites down on his argument, shaking his head. “Ugh.”

“Tony,” Jim says, “you’re both my best friends here. Even if you didn’t work out - “

“Let’s,” Tony says, cutting him off, “let’s just not talk about this, okay? I - I have work to do.”

Jim doesn’t roll his eyes, but it’s a close thing.

 

Pepper keeps her word, her arrival announced by FRIDAY as Jim’s flicking through take-away restaurants, thinking about food. “I come bearing gifts,” she says, and drops pizza boxes and a stack of papers on the coffee table.

“It’s good to see you again,” Jim says, wheeling over. Pepper bends down to wrap her arms around his neck, closing her eyes against his collar, and Jim presses his smile into her hair. “Keeping busy?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Pepper sighs, pulling back. “You look good - I mean,” she adds, suddenly flustered, “of course you’ve been looking better, but seeing you in person - “

“Yeah,” Jim says, and grins at her. “I get it.”

“Well,” Pepper says, and smooths down her skirt. “Tony?”

“Should be on his way.”

Pepper sits down and sets the paperwork aside as Jim moves himself to the couch, reaching for the pizza to busy himself. It’s well enough that he has when the elevator opens, Tony stepping out; Jim watches his expression shutter as he says, “Pepper,” and makes for the side of the couch opposite her, on Jim’s other side.

“Tony,” she says, in an equally bland tone, and Jim looks between them and puts his head in his hands.

“Really,” he says, muffled into his palms, and Tony makes a face and bumps their knees together as Pepper purses her lips and presses her hands, curled tight, to her thighs.

“Yeah, okay,” Tony says, the one to break the impasse. “Paperwork, right?”

Pepper pushes it toward him on the table, and Tony picks up the pen on top and starts flipping through as Jim makes a face at her. “I can’t deal with this,” she hisses into his ear, and he shakes his head, almost amused, and reaches out, taking one of her tight-knuckled hands in his own.

“Hey,” he says, “it’s fine.”

“Okay,” Tony says, loudly, “do you two have something to tell me, or what?”

“What?” Jim says, startled, as Pepper’s hand tightens on his own. “Tones - “

“There is nothing - “ Pepper starts, voice rising, “and even if there was, I don’t see how it’s - “

“Like it’s not my business when he’s my friend - "

" - my friend too, you selfish - "

" - just come in here and - "

"Okay, okay, calm down,” Jim says, and they both turn on him, Tony’s eyes bright and wild, Pepper’s face flushed pink. "I like you both, I’m sure you can share.”

Tony stares at him, disbelieving, says, "Rhodey, wait - " and Jim thinks: _fuck it_.

It’s easy enough to pull Tony close and press his mouth to Tony’s own, just a demonstration but it feels like they’ve done this a thousand times before. Tony’s mouth opens under his own, startled on an inhale, and Jim resists the urge to press in further, too see how easily Tony would give under him and instead, pulls away. "Like I said,” Jim says, and raises an eyebrow at Pepper, hand pressed to her mouth, the steady realisation in her face.

"You’re terrible," Pepper says, but she’s the one who leans forward and brushes a kiss, teasing and light, to Jim’s lips. "Me and Tony, we’re not - "

"You two," Jim says, "need to sort this shit out. But don’t use me as an argument, on either side.”

Tony meets his gaze when Jim raises his eyebrows at him. "Fine, you win,” he says, and Jim smiles.

"Well,” Jim says, and lifts himself up; Tony tries to take one of his arms automatically, and Pepper’s already reaching for the other as Jim waves them both off, moving back to his chair. "I’ll leave you two to it."

"I don’t know," Pepper says, and she meets Tony’s eyes over Jim’s head as Jim looks up, amused. "I think - maybe we can sort this out in a friendlier environment."

"Maybe," Tony echoes, and they share a smile, then turn it on Jim. Jim raises his eyebrows in a challenge, and he thinks they'll take it.


End file.
